Graceful Departure

As the Clinton portrays herself to voters as the continually respawning terminator of politics, the fighter that never quits; it has many within the Democratic party, well, down right scared. While she may be able to effectively portray her determination as a merit to the voters, party elders are concerned her determination will result in the termination of the Democratic party.

The prospect of a brokered convention scares everyone. However, solving the issue behind closed doors in the month following the final June 3rd contests posses its own problems too.

Obama supporter and Missouri Rep. William Lacy Clay (pictured left) called on Sen. Clinton to do what is right in order to ensure a united Democratic front: “If you have any, any kind of loyalty to the Democratic Party, perhaps you need to rethink your strategy and bow out gracefully in order to save this party from a disastrous end in November.”

Clinton's moment to bow out 'gracefully' has come and gone, but each day the destructive terminator trudges on is a blow to the Democratic party.

May 6th is the golden opportunity for Clinton to get out. She is guaranteed a big loss in North Carolina where 115 delegates are at stake. Indiana remains a horse race, but with only 72 delegates at stake, Sen. Obama will be the one on May 7th netting more votes and delegates (and, likely, more superdelegates). Considering Clinton most win 70% of the delegates in ALL remaining contests, a loss on May 6th, the two largest contests remaining, means only one thing: she must bow out.

The determined beast that she is, everyone knows she will march forward if she wins Indiana, even if its only by 1 pt. But what if she loses Indiana?

In a series of radio interviews, Sen. Clinton declined to acknowledged she would exit the race upon a loss in the Hoosier State:

In satellite interviews with television stations in Indiana and Kentucky, Clinton three times sidestepped questions about whether she would remain in the race if she lost Indiana's May 6 primary.

"We have a long way to go," Clinton told a Louisville station when asked if she would campaign in Kentucky if she lost Indiana. "I'm looking forward to coming up to Kentucky." The Bluegrass State holds a primary on May 20.

Pressed on the question, she said, "Well, I don't make any predictions or speculate on things that haven't happened yet."

Asked a similar question by a station in Evansville, Ind., she hewed to her message and avoided future commitments. "I'm thinking about how I'm going to do well in Indiana," she said.

Oy vey!